Peer recognition continued to roll our way when we received the General Excellence Award for Branch #34’s CLAN and Best Website for nalcbranch34.com in the 2018 NALC Branch Publication Competition.

It is with great pride that I announce that Branch 34 was once again recognized nationally for having the best publication of a large local (more than 1,500 members) at the recent 71st NALC Biennial National Convention with a presentation of the ‘General Excellence Award’ for Branch 34’s CLANin the Branch Publication Competition.

The Overall Excellence category recognizes publications that best serve the membership. Judges considered content (appropriate and original articles, useful information, local angles), style (clear writing, effective headlines, good story placement) and overall appearance (readability, attractiveness, use of photos and art).

This is the sixth consecutive General Excellence Award honor for Branch 34’s CLAN over the last six conventions, a period of twelve years (2008-2018).

A major reason why Branch #34’s CLAN has had such outstanding success is the long list of Branch Officers and Members who have contributed articles and commentary over these many years and this time is no exception with both Executive Vice President Kevin Flaherty and Area StewardTom Rooney taking First- and Third-Place Awards respectively for articles in the Promoting Unionism category. Congratulations to both.

While our success with Branch #34’s CLAN could not come as a complete surprise, our triumph with the recently revamped nalcbranch34.com in the NALC Branch Publication’s Best Website Contest was extraordinarily satisfying to myself and your Branch Officers having completely overhauled the site a little more than a year ago.

As stated at the time, it was our intent to provide an additional mechanism from which you, and all Members, can become more informed of what’s occurring, both locally and nationally, relative to our jobs. Being recognized as the NALC’s Best Website among the hundreds of locals throughout the country in such a short time frame reinforces and reinvigorates our commitment towards that goal.